157P/Tritton (original) (raw)

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Periodic comet with 6-year orbit

157P/Tritton

Comet 157P/Tritton on 5 September 2022 by ZTF with fragment B visible
Discovery
Discovered by	Keith Tritton
Discovery date	February 11, 1978
Designations
Alternative designations	1977 XIII
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	2023-02-25
Aphelion	5.519 AU
Perihelion	1.572 AU
Semi-major axis	3.545 AU
Eccentricity	0.5566
Orbital period	6.675 a
Inclination	12.42°
Last perihelion	2022-Sep-09[1]June 10, 2016[2]February 20, 2010
Next perihelion	2028-Mar-07 (B)[3]2029-May-18[4]

157P/Tritton is a periodic comet with a 6-year orbital period. Fragment B was first observed on 21 August 2022.[5]

Observational history

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Keith Tritton (U. K. Schmidt Telescope Unit, Coonabarabran) discovered this comet on a deep IIIa-J exposure made with the 122-cm Schmidt telescope on 1978 February 11.66.[6]

The comet was not detected during the predicted returns of 1984, 1990 or 1996 and was presumed lost. However, on 2003 October 6.44, using CCD images obtained with a 0.12-m refractor, C. W. Juels (Fountain Hills, Arizona, USA) and P. Holvorcem (Campinas, Brazil) detected a comet that proved to be on a similar orbit to the lost comet. B. G. Marsden was able to calculate a new orbit, published in IAU Circular No. 8215, issued 2003 October 7, which confirmed that it was indeed identical to comet Tritton.[6]

The comet was also recovered at its 2010, 2016, and 2022 apparitions. On 2 October 2022 the discovery of a new fragment of the comet was published in MPEC 2022-T23.[5] With a smaller orbit, fragment B should come to perihelion in 2028 March[3] and the primary fragment should come to perihelion in 2029 May[4] (1y 2m 11d later).

Orbital Elements for Epoch 2023-Feb-25

1. ^ a b "157P/Tritton Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
2. ^ Syuichi Nakano (2012-03-24). "157P/Tritton (NK 1900)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
3. ^ a b c "Horizons Batch for 157P-B/Tritton (90001088) on 2028-Mar-07" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-04-29. (JPL#4/Soln.date: 2022-Nov-15 arc: 38 days)
4. ^ a b c "Horizons Batch for 157P/Tritton (90001087) on 2029-May-18" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-04-29. (Soln.date: 2023-Apr-28)
5. ^ a b "MPEC 2022-T23 : New Fragment of comet 157P/TRITTON". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
6. ^ a b "157P/Tritton". Archived from the original on 2006-03-16. Retrieved 2006-02-22.
7. ^ "157P-B @ epoch 2023-Feb-25". JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-05-01.

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• 157P/Tritton – Seiichi Yoshida @ aerith.net
• 157P at Gary W. Kronk's Cometography